editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Blake FarmerWed, 09 Aug 2017 12:51:40 +0000Blake Farmerhttp://kwit.org
Blake Farmerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kAU3B9Pi_U Singer, guitarist and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Glen Campbell has died at age 81 in a Nashville care facility after a very public struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Campbell's death was announced in a statement from his family. Campbell was an iconic performer whose career spanned half a century, and who blurred the lines between country and pop. Campbell once said he didn't consider himself a "country singer," but rather a "country boy who sings." And historian John Rumble from the Country Music Hall of Fame says Campbell had something few do. "When he was on stage and started to sing, you knew there was a star on stage," Rumble says. "I don't know how to explain it. It's an aura. It's a feeling. You knew this was somebody special." His biggest hit topped both the pop and country charts in 1975: "Rhinestone Cowboy." Long before he was a household name, Campbell was a studio musician in Los Angeles, part of the famous "Wrecking CrewGlen Campbell, Country Music Legend, Is Dead At 81http://kwit.org/post/glen-campbell-country-music-legend-dead-81
112499 as http://kwit.orgTue, 08 Aug 2017 21:17:00 +0000Glen Campbell, Country Music Legend, Is Dead At 81Blake FarmerTennessee caused a stir earlier this year when it ran an audit of the state's 2015 graduating class. The number crunchers in Nashville reported that nearly a third of students who received a diploma didn't complete the required coursework . One in three. Naturally, parents and politicians alike were baffled and more than a little bothered. "I'm just having a hard time reconciling 'requirement' with 'didn't do it,'" board member Wendy Tucker said at a public meeting, hypothesizing on the spot that this could explain Tennessee's trouble with students succeeding in college. Less than a quarter of high-school graduates earn a postsecondary degree. She wasn't the only one having a hard time. The state's Department of Education struggled to explain the gap. After further review, it has since offered a combination of explanations: Data entry — Guidance counselors were simply putting in the wrong course codes, so, at the state level, students appeared to have missed credits that they reallyShould High School Students Need A Foreign Language To Graduate?http://kwit.org/post/should-high-school-students-need-foreign-language-graduate
105156 as http://kwit.orgTue, 11 Apr 2017 14:58:00 +0000Should High School Students Need A Foreign Language To Graduate?Blake FarmerHistorians in Nashville have been on the hunt for a prominent man named Fred Douglas. But they are happy to report that no one by the name has been found. Because they had a pretty good hunch that a park bought in the 1930s was named after the famed abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglass. The name just wasn't spelled correctly. How the name ended up in an abbreviated style has been a mystery that lingered for decades and has only now been corrected after citizens forced the issue. While the clarification has not been controversial, there was a time that the mere idea of the park ruffled feathers. It was just the city's second "Negro park," and the first was named for a white family. The white neighbors of what would become Douglas Park were so angry the city put the plans on ice for a few years, then quietly opened the park with no fanfare or explanation for the name. Some historians believe the name could have been left vague as a form of plausible deniability. For more than 80In Nashville, Spelling Frederick Douglass' Name Correctly Ends An 80-Year Mysteryhttp://kwit.org/post/nashville-spelling-frederick-douglasss-name-correctly-ends-80-year-mystery
103676 as http://kwit.orgSat, 18 Mar 2017 08:00:00 +0000In Nashville, Spelling Frederick Douglass' Name Correctly Ends An 80-Year MysteryBlake FarmerAbout a third of Tennessee students who graduated from high school in 2015 did so without earning the necessary credits. That revelation came late last month in a report by the state's education department — a report meant to explore why so many Tennessee students are having trouble in college. For the first time, state officials led an audit to see whether graduates were fulfilling the state's graduation requirements. One in three was not. The state requires graduates to take at least 22 high school credits, the report explains, "including four English and math courses, three science courses, four social studies courses, and two foreign language courses." Where were students coming up short? According to the report, "most commonly, students were missing either the two foreign language credits or the specific required social studies courses. For social studies, some students had taken a sufficient number of classes but failed to complete the exact courses specified by state policy."Tennessee Says A Third Of Its High School Graduates Didn't Meet Requirementshttp://kwit.org/post/tennessee-says-third-its-high-school-graduates-didnt-meet-requirements
101484 as http://kwit.orgSat, 11 Feb 2017 12:00:00 +0000Tennessee Says A Third Of Its High School Graduates Didn't Meet RequirementsBlake FarmerCopyright 2016 Nashville Public Radio. To see more, visit Nashville Public Radio . STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: President-elect Donald Trump's promise to bring back manufacturing jobs was attractive, even to card-carrying union members who have historically supported Democrats. It's not clear how or if Trump can deliver. And even if he does, there's been a price in recent years when manufacturing jobs are brought back to the United States - American workers accept lower salaries. Blake Farmer of member station WPLN in Nashville has more. BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: Tractor trailers are pulling in and out of this sprawling plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., where General Motors now makes one of its Cadillac SUVs. This is a plant that very nearly closed in the depths of the recession, especially when GM was on the brink of bankruptcy. Now, several thousand workers here, and things are so busy they're working around the clock - even did not take off Election Day, which is typically a holiday for this plant.Will Trump Deliver On Promises To Bring Back Manufacturing Jobs?http://kwit.org/post/will-trump-deliver-promises-bring-back-manufacturing-jobs
97430 as http://kwit.orgFri, 25 Nov 2016 11:12:00 +0000Will Trump Deliver On Promises To Bring Back Manufacturing Jobs?Blake FarmerJean Shepard, one of the first women to find success in country music as a solo act, died Sunday at age 82. Shepard was a feisty, straight-shooting singer who created a career in an industry where she had few female role models. When Shepard was first driving from town to town playing honky-tonk bars, there were only a couple of other women in country music — Kitty Wells and Minnie Pearl among them — who were putting out music by themselves. More often, the women of country were performing with their husbands or referred to as "girl singers" with bands. In that context, Shepard stood out and even sounded defiant. Shepard said that when she started out, she struggled to get a record deal because of her gender. But she'd sometimes joke about the discrimination. "I don't like to hear women say I can do anything a man can do," she quipped in a 1983 interview on The Nashville Network. "My husband can lift 200 pounds of horse feed, and I can't do that." In addition to helping pave the way'There Wasn't None Of Us': Jean Shepard, Country Music Trailblazer, Dies At 82http://kwit.org/post/there-wasnt-none-us-jean-shepard-country-music-trailblazer-dies-82
94429 as http://kwit.orgTue, 27 Sep 2016 21:11:00 +0000'There Wasn't None Of Us': Jean Shepard, Country Music Trailblazer, Dies At 82Blake FarmerJack Daniel's is a historic brand built on stories and legend. To this day, all of the whiskey is made in the hills of little Lynchburg, Tenn. And as part of its 150th anniversary, the company is highlighting a lesser-known part of its story: how a slave played a key role in its founding. The story of Nearis Green first got national attention earlier this summer, when The New York Times ran an article about his role in Jack Daniel's history based on a pitch from the company. Until now, the story usually told about the firm's founding was this: Jack Daniel left home as a young teen, went to work for Dan Call — ironically, a pastor — and ended up helping with Call's whiskey. That's where he learned his trade — perhaps under the tutelage of Green, an African-American who, at the time, was enslaved by Call. It's not clear exactly what parts of the process Daniel picked up from Green. "There's a lot of mystery there," says Jack Daniel's company historian Nelson Eddy. One book says Green wasJack Daniel's Heralds A Slave's Role In Its Origin Storyhttp://kwit.org/post/jack-daniels-heralds-slaves-role-its-origin-story
93904 as http://kwit.orgThu, 15 Sep 2016 20:31:00 +0000Jack Daniel's Heralds A Slave's Role In Its Origin StoryBlake FarmerCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.East Nashville Festival Celebrates All Things Tomato Arthttp://kwit.org/post/east-nashville-festival-celebrates-all-things-tomato-art
93720 as http://kwit.orgMon, 12 Sep 2016 21:09:00 +0000East Nashville Festival Celebrates All Things Tomato ArtBlake FarmerIt's the afternoon lull at Bongo Java East, and five students from KIPP Academy are tripping over each other behind the counter of this hip Nashville coffee joint, trying to show off what they've learned. They're grinding espresso beans. They're packing the grounds. They're steaming milk. "Let's see how this goes," 10th-grader Ayanna Holder says as she knocks a steel pot of scalding milk on the counter to keep foam from forming. She takes a freshly pulled espresso and begins pouring the latte, aiming for a quintessential leaf design on top. It doesn't quite go as planned. "It's a cloud," she says with a laugh. "That's a new masterpiece." You can only get so much practice over the course of six weekends, after all. But the group of students training to be baristas this semester are making good progress. For them, the purpose of this crash course in coffee is a bit more academic than it might sound: They're getting trained to earn money to help pay for college. The idea was brewed up atNashville High Schoolers Train As Baristas To Prepare For The College Grindhttp://kwit.org/post/nashville-high-schoolers-train-baristas-prepare-college-grind
88330 as http://kwit.orgFri, 10 Jun 2016 11:00:00 +0000Nashville High Schoolers Train As Baristas To Prepare For The College GrindBlake FarmerCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Police Arrest Tennessee Elementary School Students Over Off-Campus Fighthttp://kwit.org/post/police-arrest-tennessee-elementary-school-students-over-campus-fight
86112 as http://kwit.orgFri, 29 Apr 2016 20:28:00 +0000Police Arrest Tennessee Elementary School Students Over Off-Campus FightBlake FarmerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: A one-of-a-kind statute that criminalized drug use by pregnant women is now on track to expire in Tennessee. Blake Farmer of member station WPLN reports that the so-called fetal assault law didn't work as planned. BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: This law was controversial from the outset, so it was given a two-year trial phase, and the first required renewal vote was from a legislative committee chaired by Republican Andrew Farmer of East Tennessee. He said he's just heard too many instances of addicted women scared away from prenatal care because they feared that might land them in jail. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) ANDREW FARMER: I just think that they will be held accountable. We've just got to provide the help because right now they're being held accountable there, but they're just not being provided the help that they need. TERRI LYNN WEAVER: Well, I guess that's where we'll disagree. B. FARMER: That's State RepresentativeTennessee Lawmakers Discontinue Controversial Fetal Assault Lawhttp://kwit.org/post/tennessee-lawmakers-discontinue-controversial-fetal-assault-law
83979 as http://kwit.orgWed, 23 Mar 2016 20:45:00 +0000Tennessee Lawmakers Discontinue Controversial Fetal Assault LawBlake FarmerTens of thousands of Tennessee students steadied their clammy, test-day hands over a keyboard several days ago. And, for many, nothing happened. It was the state's first time giving standardized exams on computers, but the rollout couldn't have gone much worse. In lots of places, the testing platform slowed to a crawl or appeared to shut down entirely. Within hours, Tennessee scrapped online testing for the year. The move comes after schools spent millions of dollars to buy additional PCs and to improve their wi-fi networks. The failure wasn't entirely surprising. Tennessee had already managed several bumpy trial runs. There was the time the state asked students to try to break the system, and boy did they . State officials later said the resulting server overload led to a complete re-engineering. Even in recent weeks, system testing uncovered new problems . But still, the state pushed ahead, leading to its test day debacle. "All Tennessee students deserve a positive testing experienceThe State That Pulled The Plug On Computer Testinghttp://kwit.org/post/state-pulled-plug-computer-testing
82073 as http://kwit.orgSat, 20 Feb 2016 12:00:00 +0000The State That Pulled The Plug On Computer TestingBlake FarmerThere's a school bus driver shortage in districts from Indiana to Florida, and Nashville, Tenn., has one of the most pressing. Nearly a quarter of the city's 550 slots for drivers are unfilled — and that's when no one is sick. Being short-staffed on routes is stressful as drivers scramble to try to cover for each other. Earlier this year, for example, one Nashville high school's 10 routes had no dedicated drivers. Veteran driver Suzanne Adams says she was running back-to-back routes to make sure the students got picked up. "You should be doing three routes in the morning and three in the afternoon," she says. "I was doing 6 1/2 in the morning and six in the afternoon." Kids were left waiting for an hour or more and showing up to class after the bell rang. Sophomore Souleen Ramazan, who rides on Adams' bus, says she understands. "It is a hard job. You have to wake up extra early in the morning. It's hard for them, too," she says. For many, the hard part isn't the early mornings; it'sAmid Economic Recovery, School Districts Desperate For Bus Drivershttp://kwit.org/post/amid-economic-recovery-school-districts-desperate-bus-drivers
78745 as http://kwit.orgTue, 22 Dec 2015 21:59:00 +0000Amid Economic Recovery, School Districts Desperate For Bus DriversBlake FarmerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: It's been an important week for the military. The Pentagon paved the way for women to officially serve in ground combat jobs. The move opens some 200,000 positions to women service members. So we sent Blake Farmer of member station WPLN to Fort Campbell, Ky., to gauge reaction. BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: Walk into Stacey Hopwood's civilian office, and it feels a bit like a Marine Corps museum. STACEY HOPWOOD: Because I'm proud of it (laughter). We have a saying - once a Marine, always a Marine. FARMER: Hopwood's retired and now helps the masses of veterans in the area sign up for services. She was a military police officer. She points to a unit photo from the first Gulf War era in which her cropped black hair is slicked back to meet Marine hairstyle regulations. A superior nagged her every day. HOPWOOD: People used to kid me that I could get caught in a tornado and my hair wouldn't move. That just became, like, I am not ever goingVeterans React To Opening Of Combat Roles To Womenhttp://kwit.org/post/veterans-react-opening-combat-roles-women
77727 as http://kwit.orgFri, 04 Dec 2015 21:43:00 +0000Veterans React To Opening Of Combat Roles To WomenBlake FarmerOpioids have a stranglehold on parts of the U.S. And where addictive pain medicines are the drug of choice, clinics for addiction treatment often follow. Sometime these are doctor's offices where patients can get painkiller-replacement drugs, such as Subutex and Suboxone. These medicines, brand-name forms of buprenorphine , can ease withdrawal symptoms and cravings for opiates. They can be prescribed in an office setting, unlike methadone. And the drugs, also mild narcotics, can block the pleasurable effects of opioids if people fall off the wagon and take them, which can help reduce relapses. "I use the medication as fishing bait," says John Fisher, a self-taught counselor who runs Addiction Recovery Center of East Tennessee in rural Blountville. The sign out front says the clinic specializes in "addictionology." "We bring them in and try to taper them over time," Fisher says, adding that no one comes truly seeking treatment. They're looking for legal access to drugs. "One hundredWhen Drug Treatment For Narcotic Addiction Never Endshttp://kwit.org/post/when-drug-treatment-narcotic-addiction-never-ends
76917 as http://kwit.orgFri, 20 Nov 2015 21:10:00 +0000When Drug Treatment For Narcotic Addiction Never EndsBlake FarmerCopyright 2015 Nashville Public Radio. To see more, visit . Transcript DAVID GREENE, HOST: Volkswagen admitted that it did something sneaky. As we've reported, the company put software in diesel vehicles that helped cheat emissions tests. Officials from VW took their lumps testifying in Congress this month but not so at a legislative hearing yesterday in Chattanooga, Tenn., where the company has its only U.S. plant. Blake Farmer from member station WPLN says it was a lovefest by comparison. BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: There are certainly angry Volkswagen customers scattered around the world, ready to chuck their diesel cars that they thought were cleaner than they are. But in Tennessee, it's a different story. PAM HURST: I still respect them. I just - I pray for them every day (laughter) that they'll come out of this because I think they will. FARMER: Pam Hurst works for the county government in Chattanooga where she says Volkswagen's arrival in 2009 changed the city's economic fortunes.As An Investor, Tennessee Maintains Support For Volkswagenhttp://kwit.org/post/investor-tennessee-maintains-support-volkswagen
75609 as http://kwit.orgFri, 30 Oct 2015 09:21:00 +0000As An Investor, Tennessee Maintains Support For VolkswagenBlake FarmerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Volkswagen has one plant in the U.S. It's a billion-dollar facility located outside Chattanooga, Tenn. It started cranking out cars in 2011 with a lot of financial help from the state government. And now with this scandal, lawmakers worry that their investment is in trouble. Blake Farmer of member station WPLN in Nashville has that story. BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: When it comes to corporate subsidies, Volkswagen is one of the biggest recipients in Tennessee. Taxpayers coughed up more than a half-billion dollars for initial construction of the automaker's plant. With 1,500 direct jobs and thousands more suppliers, Republican governor Bill Haslam told reporters there's a lot riding on the automaker's success. BILL HASLAM: Volkswagen is somebody that is a major partner for us in the state of Tennessee both in terms of investment and the jobs created. We're obviously very interested in their continued growth, but they're going to haveTenn. Lawmakers Worry About Fate Of VW's Chattanooga Planthttp://kwit.org/post/tenn-lawmakers-worry-about-fate-vws-chattanooga-plant
73524 as http://kwit.orgThu, 24 Sep 2015 20:38:00 +0000Tenn. Lawmakers Worry About Fate Of VW's Chattanooga PlantBlake FarmerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: The Iowa caucuses aren't until February 1, but off-year mayoral races are hitting the home stretch. In Nashville, a campaign focused on affordable housing and traffic has taken a detour into religion. Blake Farmer of member station WPLN reports that one candidate is sowing doubt about his opponent's Christian faith. BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: It started with phone calls and emails whispering that frontrunner Megan Barry is an atheist, which she is not. It's no small accusation in a state like Tennessee that still has a law banning atheists from public office. Her opponent, David Fox, a businessman and former school board chairman, called it malicious gossip. DAVID FOX: You know, I don't want to have anything to do that sort of stuff. FARMER: Then, a Fox radio ad aired the week before Election Day. No A-word, but it implies Barry opposes public prayer and pick fights with faith-based groups. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)Religion Takes Spotlight In Final Days Of Nashville Mayoral Racehttp://kwit.org/post/religion-takes-spotlight-final-days-nashville-mayoral-race
72249 as http://kwit.orgThu, 03 Sep 2015 20:25:00 +0000Religion Takes Spotlight In Final Days Of Nashville Mayoral RaceBlake FarmerNinety percent of students at Hobgood Elementary in Murfreesboro, Tenn., come from low-income households. Most of the school's teachers don't. And that's a challenge, says principal Tammy Garrett. "If you only know middle-class families, you may not understand at times why they don't have their homework or why they're tired," Garrett says. When she became principal four years ago, Garrett decided to get her teachers out of their classrooms — and comfort zones — for an afternoon. Once a year, just before school starts, they board a pair of yellow buses and head for the neighborhoods and apartment complexes where Hobgood students live. En route, the bus driver describes over the intercom how he picks up 50 children at one complex each morning. The teachers pump themselves up with a chant. After all, they're doing something most people don't enjoy: knocking on doors unannounced. When the caravan arrives at a cluster of apartments, the teachers fan out and start knocking on doors of knownKnock Knock, Teacher's Here: The Power Of Home Visitshttp://kwit.org/post/knock-knock-teachers-here-power-home-visits
71757 as http://kwit.orgWed, 26 Aug 2015 18:03:00 +0000Knock Knock, Teacher's Here: The Power Of Home VisitsBlake FarmerCopyright 2015 Nashville Public Radio. To see more, visit .Producer Billy Sherrill Brought Pop's Passion And Sheen To The Honky-Tonkhttp://kwit.org/post/producer-billy-sherrill-brought-pops-passion-and-sheen-honky-tonk
70565 as http://kwit.orgWed, 05 Aug 2015 09:17:00 +0000Producer Billy Sherrill Brought Pop's Passion And Sheen To The Honky-Tonk